New RBI steps dampener for international real estate8/17/2013The new restrictions by RBI with regards to Indians investing in international real estate under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) have been introduced in an effort to stabilize the rupee. This move will have medium to long term implications.
Also read: Here s an update on Bangalore s real estate market
Individuals who were planning to buy international real estate at attractive valuations and planning for their kids’ education and housing aboard will now see such plans challenged.
Currently, the variety of options available on the international property market offer very attractive rental yield and valuations, making the proposition of investing in property abroad a potentially lucrative one.
However, the new restrictions will put a dampener on the sentiments of Indian investors who were considering this route.

Bill in RS to regulate real estateNew Delhi: A bill seeking to protect home buyers from unscrupulous developers and builders and having provisions like jail term of up to three years for offences like putting up misleading advertisements about projects repeatedly, was introduced in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The bill also intends to make it mandatory for developers to launch projects only after acquiring all statutory clearances from relevant authorities. It makes it mandatory for builders to clarify the carpet area of the flats as well.
Introducing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013, Housing Minister Girija Vyas said the bill seeks to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector.
Vyas also said the bill is for regulation and promotion of the real estate sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment of building, as the case may be, in an efficient and transparent manner.
The bill will also facilitate the establishment of an Appellate Tribunal, which will hear appeals from decisions, directions or orders of the Authority and related matters.
The Union Cabinet had approved Bill on June 4. Under the bill, there will be a model builder-buyer agreement which is expected to reduce ambiguities in real estate transactions.
Real estate agents will also be asked to register with the regulator, a move that is expected to help in curbing money laundering. The bill that seeks to provide a uniform regulatory environment to the sector, was earlier opposed by private developers but the government stuck to it on the argument that it will infuse transparency.
It has provisions under which all relevant clearances for real estate projects would have to be submitted to regulator and also displayed on a website before starting construction.
The bill has tough provisions to deter builders from putting out misleading advertisements related to the projects carrying photographs of the actual site. Failure to do so for the first time would attract a penalty which may be up to 10 percent of the project cost and a repeat offence could land the developer in jail.
8/13/2013

Real-Estate Firms Boost Hiring in CityFinding an apartment in Manhattan these days may be tough, but finding a job selling or renting one is getting a little easier, according to a jobs report released Thursday.
The number of jobs in real estate in New York City jumped 2.9% in July compared with the same period last year—to nearly 122,000 jobs from 118,500 jobs, according to the New York state Department of Labor.
The rebound puts real-estate jobs near their recent peak of 123,000 in June 2008. Since the beginning of 2009, the number of people employed in real estate in the New York City has hovered around 118,000, before jumping to just over 120,000 in June, according to the Department of Labor.
[image]
A big reason for the increase is 5% growth in the number of real-estate brokers on both the residential and commercial side, according to the department.
Residential real-estate brokerages said they are hiring brokers to keep up with a strong appetite for rentals and condos. Commercial brokers said they are also seeing an uptick in business.
"Our firm has been on a big hiring spree," said Paul Massey, chief executive of Massey Knakal, which specializes in sales of office and apartment buildings and development sites.
Mr. Massey said the firm has hired about 30 new people in the last six months, and plans to hire another 30 more in the next six months.
For job seekers, however, landing a coveted spot still isn t easy. "We probably had close to 2,000 applicants for about 30 jobs. It s incredibly competitive," Mr. Massey said.
New York City s real-estate market has rebounded more quickly than the local economy overall, in part because foreigners have invested in high-price condos, real estate officials say.
Manhattan residential rents are approaching all-time highs of an average $3,442 a month, according to Citi Habitats, a residential brokerage firm. Condo prices rose 11.4% to nearly $1.9 million on average in the second quarter, according to Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Miller Samuel Inc., a real-estate appraisal firm.
Transaction volume, which tends to drive hiring, was up nearly 19% in the second quarter to more than 3,100 co-op and condo sales in Manhattan, Mr. Miller said.
On the commercial real-estate side, the market has remained stable. The Manhattan office vacancy rate has hovered around 12% in recent years, though that is still above the 9.7% rate in September 2008, according to Robert Sammons, head of research at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Asking rents are similarly holding steady at around $59 a square foot, according to Mr. Sammons.
Overall in July, New York private-sector employment grew 2.7% compared with a year earlier, according to the Department of Labor. Sectors that continued to lead the growth were education and health services, and leisure and hospitality. The city s unemployment rate remained the same as last month, at 8.4%.
New York state s private-sector job count dipped slightly by 9,200 jobs, over the month to just over 7.4 million. The unemployment rate remained at 7.5%.
While the city has added jobs steadily since the recession, sectors such as banking and insurance have been slower to come back. Lower-wage jobs in retail, restaurant and home health-aid jobs have boomed.
Salaries in the real-estate industry are on average $66,759 a year, according to a quarterly census of wages produced the New York state and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gary Malin, president of Citi Habitats, said people from other industries are trying to jump into real estate because they realize how much money they can make. "The rent market is very high, the sales market is very high, and the environment is very vibrant right now."8/16/2013

Bill in RS to regulate real estate8/13/2013New Delhi: A bill seeking to protect home buyers from unscrupulous developers and builders and having provisions like jail term of up to three years for offences like putting up misleading advertisements about projects repeatedly, was introduced in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The bill also intends to make it mandatory for developers to launch projects only after acquiring all statutory clearances from relevant authorities. It makes it mandatory for builders to clarify the carpet area of the flats as well.
Introducing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill 2013, Housing Minister Girija Vyas said the bill seeks to establish the Real Estate Regulatory Authority to protect the interest of consumers in the real estate sector.
Vyas also said the bill is for regulation and promotion of the real estate sector and to ensure sale of plot, apartment of building, as the case may be, in an efficient and transparent manner.
The bill will also facilitate the establishment of an Appellate Tribunal, which will hear appeals from decisions, directions or orders of the Authority and related matters.
The Union Cabinet had approved Bill on June 4. Under the bill, there will be a model builder-buyer agreement which is expected to reduce ambiguities in real estate transactions.
Real estate agents will also be asked to register with the regulator, a move that is expected to help in curbing money laundering. The bill that seeks to provide a uniform regulatory environment to the sector, was earlier opposed by private developers but the government stuck to it on the argument that it will infuse transparency.
It has provisions under which all relevant clearances for real estate projects would have to be submitted to regulator and also displayed on a website before starting construction.
The bill has tough provisions to deter builders from putting out misleading advertisements related to the projects carrying photographs of the actual site. Failure to do so for the first time would attract a penalty which may be up to 10 percent of the project cost and a repeat offence could land the developer in jail.

Government may relax FDI norms for real estate sector to boost fund flows8/12/2013NEW DELHI: The government is considering sweeping changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the real estate sector to boost fund flows to the cash-strapped sector as well as to bolster the battered Indian currency.
The urban development ministry has suggested that real estate firms with less than 50% foreign ownership be exempted from all current restrictions, including the minimum area norms for development of projects.

The need to have FDI in real estate sector8/9/2013Shobhit Agarwal
JLL India
While banks have aided most real estate development in the past, the cost of debt is getting higher by the day. The strict guidelines introduced by RBI have made real estate lending even more expensive and cumbersome.
Also read: Lower Parel s real estate mkt-- a bubble waiting to burst?
Currently, the costs of key inputs for real estate development are up by at least 7 percent. This is over and above a rise of about 25 percent last year. Labour cost is up 10-15 percent and the costs of steel and cement by about 7 percent. To add to this, funding costs have headed north.
For Mumbai, the recent DCR amendments would add to developers costs by about 15 percent, which includes the fungible premium payable if the builder opts to take the additional 35 percent FSI option.
Cumulatively, this comes to an approximate hike of 20 percent hike in construction cost, which most developers would pass on the consumers. The Indian real estate sector is in dire need of foreign funding - both in terms of maintaining growth and for the benefit of consumers.
FDI - The only feasible option
Unlike most developed economies, India does not allow REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts). Many would point to the M&A route, but this is also a lacklustre option as it comes at a cost of about 20 percent.
Meanwhile, REMFs (Real Estate Mutual Funds) - India s tentative answer to the international REITs model, adapted to the existing Indian mutual funds platform - do not seem to be the right answer, either.
While everybody is working on entry and creating assets, the important question of who will buy these assets to provide an exit to the developers / investors needs to be addressed.
The leveraging allowed in the case of Indian REITs is the lowest (at 20 percent of the value) compared to 35 percent in case of Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan and 200 percent in the case of Korea. This could result in a lower yield - and because it is not really leveraged, the risk factor is also higher.
With all these routes being plugged because of the risk involved, FDI is clearly the only life-saver which the real estate sector can look up to. However; the ever-changing policies on FDI, taxation and development, coupled with a lack in transparency in the system and a high amount of friction in approval mechanisms, have led to an uncertainty in yields and tenure of lock-in for investments in real estate.
Today, if a foreign investor is willing to invest for a medium term like 5-6 years, he is bound to be hesitant as it is most likely that the targeted projects would take longer than 5 years to be completed. Also, foreign investors are bound to miss out on the cream of returns, which come only after the project is in advanced stages of development or nearing completion.
This uncertainty of the quantum and time of returns is the reason why most foreign investors are currently shying away from Indian real estate sector.

Delhi leads world in real estate price rise: Study8/9/2013India has witnessed the sharpest appreciation in real estate prices in the last couple of years, according to data from the Global Property Guide, an organization which collates real estate data from across the world.
Property prices in Delhi witnessed the steepest appreciation of roughly 60%, when compared to cities from 43 other countries, for which figures were available from that organization. Interestingly, while this data set has information only for Delhi in India, official data on Indian cities suggests that Jaipur has seen an ever faster rise in residential property prices of 67% over this period.
Delhi s 60% rise in property prices over the past two years is nearly 20 percentage points higher than Brazil s Sao Paulo, which is the second fastest rising international property market. From the first quarter of 2011 to Q1-2013, Sao Paulo, the largest city in the Americas in terms of population, witnessed a 43% increase in real estate prices.
Hong Kong, the third fastest rising market for the same period, saw its property prices going up by 33%. Dubai also appears to be in a recovery phase after the bust of its early 2000s property bubble. The city witnessed a 29% increase in its real estate prices in the last year. The West Asian city had witnessed a marginal decline in prices between Q1-2011 and Q1-2012.
In the past two years, for which comparable data is available, only 12 of the 43 countries saw double-digit growth in property prices. Most of these are emerging economies, not surprising given the fact that Europe has been battling the century s worst recession. Other countries where property prices went up by more than 10% are Turkey, Estonia, Philippines, Norway, Iceland, Indonesia, South Africa and New Zealand.
The data indicates that property prices in America, the world s largest real estate market, are increasing as its economy recovers. The US real estate market saw prices appreciating by 9% between Q1-2012 and Q1-2013 after declining over the previous year. Similarly, Beijing s property prices too registered 8% growth during Q1-2012 to Q1-2013 after dropping in the previous year.
Other large economies which have witnessed a positive growth in property prices in the past two years are Germany and Japan, where real estate prices increased by 8% and 3% respectively. However, in Germany property prices fell by almost 2% over the last year after increasing by 9.8% between Q-1 2011 and Q1-2012.

Mumbai real estate market sees 16% rise in registrations8/8/2013Despite a slowdown in the economy, the Mumbai real estate market saw a 16% increase in property registrations in the first half of calendar year 2013 over the same period last year, data sourced from Director General of Registrations, Mumbai, showed.
There were 34,588 registrations between January and June 2013 against 29,773 done last year, signalling an uptick in property sales. Supply coming back into the market, quicker approvals for projects and developers offering discounts and freebies on bookings seem to be factors having a positive effect on the property absorptions in the metropolis, albeit at a very slow pace.
Sales in the Mumbai market have been sluggish for the last 12-18 months as a change in the development control rules, coupled with increasing liquidity pressures being faced by developers had hit the market.
However, the approvals scenario has been improving. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation s (BMC) highrise committee cleared 62 building proposals between January and June 2013. This was more than five times the number of proposals it had cleared between June 2012 to December 2012. The committee scrutinises building proposals based on various aspects including environmental sustainability, infrastructure and availability of the mandatory open space.
Among the premium projects that have been cleared between January to June are projects of Lodha Developers, Runwal Developers, Omkar, Nirmal Lifestyle, Orbit Corporation and Rajesh Lifespaces.
However, Reserve Bank of India s (RBI) hawkish stance on interest rates has been a dampener, say developers. "It is a fact that lot of pent up demand

Toll plaza mess dents real estate boom8/6/2013Great commuting infrastructure is a boost for real estate as has been proved all over the world. For Gurgaon, however, the story is different with the mismanaged Delhi-Gurgaon expressway and its toll plazas dampening the region’s realty growth.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), it is quite clear that people do not mind living on the city’s periphery and the far-off suburbs if given an effective and fast commuting option like the Delhi Metro.
Likewise, the 27.5-kilometre-long Delhi-Gurgaon expressway ideally would have been the lifeline of the area. But, five years since it became operational in January, 2008, the ill-conceived expressway toll plazas — at Sirhaul near Ambience Mall and Kherki Daula near Haldiram — have become major hurdles on the way of rapid urbanisation and realty boom.
related story
Jams put off prospective buyers
‘Impediment to growth’
“We have three properties along National Highway-8. The Delhi-Gurgaon expressway can turn out to be a new growth engine for realty if the two toll plazas, which unfortunately are not managed well, can be done away with,” said Harinder Dhillon, senior vice-president, Raheja Developers.
Access to a slew of residential and commercial properties coming up in and around Manesar — on the upcoming Northern Peripheral Road, also known as the Dwarka expressway, and the Southern Peripheral Road — is greatly hindered by the Kherki Daula toll plaza.
“The tolls act as a great practical as well as mental blockage for people to buy property as these have become commuting barriers. It will help if the toll plazas are moved out of the city,” said Brigadier (retired) RR Singh, director general, National Real Estate Development Council.
The traffic scene on the expressway is apparently putting off long-time residents as well. Alok Darshan, associate vice-president with a prominent IT firm, has recently bought a property at Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, some 40 kilometres from Gurgaon.
“While zeroing in on properties, I realised that the Kherki Daula toll plaza was a big impediment for commuting. I have pinned my hope on the upcoming Pink City flyover to give respite to my commuting woes,” said Darshan who presently resides in Gurgaon and drives down to his Noida office braving the toll plaza jams at Sirhaul every day.

Real Estate Bill consumer-friendly but not anti-industry: Girija Vyas8/5/2013Asian investors in real estate like what they see in Tokyo at the moment, as a combination of recent affordability of homes in the Japanese capital and a recovering property market promise returns on real estate investment as high as 8 percent on rental income. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s resolve to keep the yen value weak – all part and parcel of an aggressive economic plan to drag Japan out of the economic doldrums and into inflation dubbed “Abenomics” by the press – has made real estate prices in Tokyo much more affordable compared to prices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
“Japan is cheap considering how much property prices have gained in Singapore and Hong Kong,” said Akihiko Mizuno, international director and head of capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). “They [Tokyo investors] expect to receive stable rental income and also have an expectation that prices will rise,” Mizuno added. Home prices in Tokyo range from around 120,000 yen to 150,000 yen (around US$1200 to US$1500) per square foot, according to the Chicago-based JLL. That compares with about 280,000 yen to 400,000 yen (around US$2800 to US$4000) in Hong Kong, and 200,000 yen to 250,000 yen in Singapore (around US$2000 to US$2500).
Investors and their money are now being drawn towards Tokyo, according to Sanjay Verma, chief executive officer for the Asia-Pacific region at broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. “It used to be that all we needed to do is to talk about prices,” Verma said. “Now in some cases, our clients have to enroll into a draw and compete with Japanese buyers to acquire new properties.” Bidding on real estate property is prohibited in Japan, so prospective buyers – now there are a lot of them – are entered into a public draw. Those who already own apartments in Tokyo are very happy indeed, because they have bought prime real estate property at low prices and low risk, and a big chance of prices going up. “When making an investment, you want to buy when prices are low and with relatively low risks,” said Julia Chang, a 48-year-old Taiwanese investor in real estate. “That way, it has more room for prices to go up. Besides, Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world after all. Owning properties here makes me happy,” she concluded.
Sales of Tokyo apartments and condominiums have been on a 10-month increase, the longest streak of growth for the industry since December 1996. And realtors are all pointing to Abenomics as the major contributing factor of why the prices are low (weak yen) and how the buyers are convinced that the market will grow (inflation begets market confidence). Masayuki Taniguchi, a 51-year-old real estate broker, was happy when spotted this trend early. Three years ago, he had set up a website focused on selling Tokyo properties to Chinese investors from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. He didn’t get any traction until late last year when Abe took office. “At first, I was just stunned,” said Taniguchi. “I knew there was demand. I just couldn’t believe how rapidly the situation changed. With Abenomics, people expect the yen to decline, which makes the properties here cheaper to invest for overseas investors.” An apartment in Tokyo can now generate returns of about 6 percent to 8 percent, Taniguchi said, which is a very decent investment indeed.

Tokyo real estate cheaper that other Asian cities because of ‘Abenomics’ luring Asian investors8/3/2013Asian investors in real estate like what they see in Tokyo at the moment, as a combination of recent affordability of homes in the Japanese capital and a recovering property market promise returns on real estate investment as high as 8 percent on rental income. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s resolve to keep the yen value weak – all part and parcel of an aggressive economic plan to drag Japan out of the economic doldrums and into inflation dubbed “Abenomics” by the press – has made real estate prices in Tokyo much more affordable compared to prices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
“Japan is cheap considering how much property prices have gained in Singapore and Hong Kong,” said Akihiko Mizuno, international director and head of capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). “They [Tokyo investors] expect to receive stable rental income and also have an expectation that prices will rise,” Mizuno added. Home prices in Tokyo range from around 120,000 yen to 150,000 yen (around US$1200 to US$1500) per square foot, according to the Chicago-based JLL. That compares with about 280,000 yen to 400,000 yen (around US$2800 to US$4000) in Hong Kong, and 200,000 yen to 250,000 yen in Singapore (around US$2000 to US$2500).
Investors and their money are now being drawn towards Tokyo, according to Sanjay Verma, chief executive officer for the Asia-Pacific region at broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. “It used to be that all we needed to do is to talk about prices,” Verma said. “Now in some cases, our clients have to enroll into a draw and compete with Japanese buyers to acquire new properties.” Bidding on real estate property is prohibited in Japan, so prospective buyers – now there are a lot of them – are entered into a public draw. Those who already own apartments in Tokyo are very happy indeed, because they have bought prime real estate property at low prices and low risk, and a big chance of prices going up. “When making an investment, you want to buy when prices are low and with relatively low risks,” said Julia Chang, a 48-year-old Taiwanese investor in real estate. “That way, it has more room for prices to go up. Besides, Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world after all. Owning properties here makes me happy,” she concluded.
Sales of Tokyo apartments and condominiums have been on a 10-month increase, the longest streak of growth for the industry since December 1996. And realtors are all pointing to Abenomics as the major contributing factor of why the prices are low (weak yen) and how the buyers are convinced that the market will grow (inflation begets market confidence). Masayuki Taniguchi, a 51-year-old real estate broker, was happy when spotted this trend early. Three years ago, he had set up a website focused on selling Tokyo properties to Chinese investors from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. He didn’t get any traction until late last year when Abe took office. “At first, I was just stunned,” said Taniguchi. “I knew there was demand. I just couldn’t believe how rapidly the situation changed. With Abenomics, people expect the yen to decline, which makes the properties here cheaper to invest for overseas investors.” An apartment in Tokyo can now generate returns of about 6 percent to 8 percent, Taniguchi said, which is a very decent investment indeed.

Indians among top foreign investors in Dubai real estate market8/1/2013DUBAI: Indians are top foreign investors in Dubai s real estate market, with transactions of over Rs 132.6 billion made by them during the first half of 2013, according to an official report.
Dubai s Land Department announced the statistics based on its semi-annual report that revealed a significant increase in funds invested in the market, reaching Rs 877.5 billion.

Yangon More Expensive Than NYC Sparking Boom: Real Estate7/30/2013In a region where booming real estate markets have governments from Chile to Brazil to Colombia warning of potential property bubbles, Argentina stands out as a bust.
Two years after President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner clamped down on dollar purchases, the housing industry is grinding to a halt. While prices soared to records in Sanhattan, a high-end strip in Santiago, Rio de Janeiro and Medellin, Colombia, in Buenos Aires they dropped an average 1.2 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months, the first decline in data that goes back to 2005.
“The main issue in Argentina is that the real estate market has historically been transacted in dollars so when you make it impossible for people to source dollars, liquidity gets disrupted,” said Bret Rosen, managing director of research at Jamestown Properties in New York.
Fernández’s foreign-currency curbs effectively put home purchases out of reach for many people because they would be forced to buy dollars on the black market for almost 60 percent above the official rate.
Sales in Buenos Aires plunged 34 percent in the first five months, the biggest decline since the 2001 financial crisis that culminated in the government’s US$95-billion bond default, according to the Buenos Aires Notary College.
Real estate is often paid for upfront as the double-digit inflation rate undermines banks’ ability to offer long-term loans. A five-year mortgage has average borrowing costs of 18 percent, according to the Central Bank, compared with the 24 percent inflation rate estimated by private economists. Official data, which have been challenged by the International Monetary Fund, says consumer prices are rising at half the rate.
Only 14.9 percent of all home purchases in the province of Buenos Aires used mortgages last year, down from 15.3 percent in 2011, according to Buenos Aires real estate research company Reporte Inmobiliario. The share hasn’t surpassed 21 percent in the past 10 years.
Property sales in Buenos Aires tumbled 27 percent last year from 2011, the biggest drop in Reporte Inmobiliario data that goes back to 1998, and only the fourth annual decline after 2001, 2004 and 2009.
Pesos accepted
The currency limitations has led some real estate companies to start pricing their projects in pesos. Developer Alan Faena accepted pesos to finish selling about 25 percent of his apartment building in Puerto Madero.
Currency controls make investing in Argentina “difficult,” he said, “You do whatever you can to adapt.”
Faena, developer of the Faena Hotel and Faena Aleph Residences, has no plans to invest more in Argentina.
Instead he is completing six projects in Miami — a residential building, a hotel, an arts centre, a shopping gallery a park and a marina — with a US$600 million investment from his partner, Ukrainian-born American billionaire Len Blavatnik. He said he’s sold 50 percent of his condominium building set to be completed in September.
Argentines seeking to escape currency controls, sluggish economic growth and rising inflation surpassed Brazilians last year and became the biggest Latin American buyers of property in the United States by spending US$2 billion, according to a June 24 report by the National Association of Realtors.
Tax amnesty
The federal government is trying to revive the market by offering to forgive taxes owed on undeclared dollars if they’re invested in property. People can exchange funds held abroad for CEDIN certificates that can be used in real estate transactions and redeemed for dollars by the seller of a property.
The plan has only attracted US$8.5 million since it began on July 1 because investors are wary the dollar-starved government will try to keep the greenbacks, according to Florencia Cecchini, real estate agent at Matty Pell & Asociados in Buenos Aires.
“My clients get an ulcer every time I bring up the subject,” she said. “They don’t want to hear of it because they don’t trust they’ll be able to get actual dollars.”

Slide in PE real estate deals only a blip: Report7/29/2013MUMBAI, JULY 30:
Private equity firms are eager to invest approximately $2 billion (Rs 11,854 crore) in the real estate market despite a drop in private equity investments in the first half of 2013, according to a new report.
While PE investments in real estate was recorded at Rs 1,638 crore in H1 2013, which is 46 per cent lower compared to the first half of 2012 with its Rs 3,050 crore investments, PE funds have continued to show a keen interest in the market. A number of deals are in discussion, according to global real estate consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield.
The firm has said the decline in the quantum of PE investment was essentially due to fewer deals, around 13 in H1 2013, though the average ticket size of deals remained the same.
In 2013, the firm has said the highest value of PE investments was recorded in Pune at Rs 780 crore, followed by Mumbai at Rs 400 crore, NCR at Rs 235 crore and Bangalore at Rs 100 crore. Pune witnessed high-value transactions such as the Panchshil Realty and Ireo Management SEZ by Blackstone for Rs 450 crore.
The first quarter of 2013 saw PE deals worth Rs 700 crore announced in Pune, Rs 270 crore in Mumbai, Rs 100 crore in Bangalore and Rs 75 crore in the NCR region.
The report adds that the pace of growth of the real estate sector in India has been impacted given the current prevailing volatility in the market, including slower growth of the Indian economy and the depreciation of the rupee.
Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director South Asia, Cushman & Wakefield, said that despite the slowdown in the construction market and reduced number of investible projects in India, real estate features as the fourth most invested sector by PE funds.
With approximately $2 billion ready to be deployed in the real estate sector across India, Dutt added that the fund raising environment, both the domestic and offshore, has consistently improved with more quality capital available.
The report indicated that the total value of investments in the residential segment, recorded at Rs 90 crore, in H1 2013 witnessed a drop of 48 per cent over the last year. The total value of investments in the office segment was also lower in H1 2013 at Rs 700 crore.
However, the report adds that there is a strong growing trend towards investments in ready office space. The growing stability of the market is reflected by the continuous growth of the core investors, with over Rs 7,705 crore invested in ready office space during the last three years.
amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in

Real Estate Broker Expands7/26/2013Windermere Real Estate/Lane County has expanded with the addition of a commercial real estate office in downtown Eugene and a new partner, co-owner Matt Powell said.
Powell bought the building at 1165 Pearl St. for $725,000, using a Small Business Administration loan, did “a six-figure remodel” and then officially opened Windermere Commercial there this week.
He first put an offer in on the building, which has 4,400 square feet of space, in November 2012, Powell said.
“It wasn’t until early this year we were able to come to terms,” he said. It’s already proving to be a good investment, he said.
“The building appraised at $900,000. I do believe it’s a million-dollar building.”
Powell said he wanted a commercial office in downtown Eugene because it “continues to be our hub, we’re close to services we need as commercial brokers.”
“I put a plan for a commercial real estate office together in 2007,” he said. “Commercial real estate is a personal passion. But things changed in late 2007, the economy changed.”
Now, he said, with an improving market, and with a new partner, he pulled the plans off the shelf and made them a reality.
The new office, Windermere’s fourth in Lane County, will house its commercial brokers as well as a couple of other businesses Powell owns, he said, most notably, Trinity Real Estate Services.
He founded Trinity in 2010 to do consulting for local banks and credit unions on foreclosed properties.
Trinity previously was in rented space nearby.
“I’d rather pay rent to myself instead of paying rent to someone else,” Powell said.
He also rented out some space in the Pearl Street building to mortgage lender Summit Funding, Powell said, adding that he had planned to rent out more of the space but decided that he needed it himself, for his growing companies.
He already has added one commercial broker to Windermere, Paul Peschiera, owner of Business Acquisitions of Oregon, Powell said.
“We have four now. The goal is to double that by the end of the year,” Powell said.
Also joining Windermere, as a partner and co-owner with Powell and his wife Tanya, is Elliot Wood.
Wood, who was co-owner and principal broker of Windermere Real Estate/North in Lynnwood, Wash., has family ties to Eugene, Powell said. Powell said he and Wood have known each other for about 10 years.
After Wood and his wife decided to move to Eugene, the Powells and Wood talked about him joining their firm, Matt Powell said.
Wood initially joined Windermere Real Estate/Lane County as principal broker last year, a role he will continue to fill as co-owner, Powell said.

Real Estate Performance Review for Barrington Announced by John Herman Team7/26/2013The John Herman team is pleased to announce the latest real estate performance review results for Barrington for the year ending June 30, 2013. The real estate performance review for homes in Barrington showed significant increase in the number of closed sales in this community. The number of closed sales for attached homes has risen by 200%, increasing from 14 closed sales for the year ending June 30, 2012 to 42 closed sales for the year ending June 30, 2013. There was also an increase of 29% in the number of closed sales for detached homes, as the number rose from 192 closed sales for the year ending June 30, 2012 to 249 closed sales for the year ending June 30, 2013. There were mixed results for the median sales price for home sold, as the median sales price for attached homes decreased from $161,250 for the year ending June 30, 2012 to $139,000 for the year ending June 30, 2013, and the median sales price for detached homes increased slightly from $395,000 for the year ending June 30, 2012 to $402,500 for the year ending June 30, 2013.
In Illinois real estate, there were also mixed results for the market time for homes sold, as the number of days detached homes remained on the market fell from 218 days for the year ending June 30, 2012 to 239 new listings for the year ending June 30, 2013. However, the number of days detached homes stayed on the market improved from 181 days for the year ending June 30, 2012 to 139 days for the year ending June 30, 2013. The year also showed a decline in the month’s supply of inventory for Barrington homes for sale. The month’s supply of inventory for attached homes fell from 23.4 homes for the year ending June 30, 2012 to 6.3 home for the year ending June 30, 2013, and the month’s supply of inventory for detached homes dropped from 10.6 homes for the year ending June 30, 2012 to 6.5 homes for the year ending June 30, 2013.
About John Herman:
John Herman is considered the Best Barrington real estate broker who serves the entire city of Barrington and its surrounding areas. He has more than twelve years of experience in the local real estate market and is dedicated to providing his clients with exceptional services that assist them in obtaining the right home, for the right price. He holds a Master’s Degree, as well as, an Accredited Buyer Representative Certification, a Short Sale Foreclosure Resource Certification, and is an Equator Short Sale Certified Platinum Member. His decade long commitment to providing each customer with individualized and prompt customer services has earned him the Five Star Professional Award for the past three years. In fact, his customer service ratings were so high, that John Herman has been ranked among the top 2% of real estate agents in the Greater Chicago Area. This distinguished honor speaks volumes about his strong commitment to his clients and his dedication to providing optimal services.

Real estate developers pitch clients on Facebook Twitter for buyers7/18/2013MUMBAI: For many real estate developers one good thing about the recent slowdown in demand is that it has helped them find a cost-effective medium to sell housing projects: social media.
Tata Housing, Puravankara Group and Godrej Properties are among a rising number of builders using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to market their projects at just about one-tenth of the cost of mass-media marketing.
And they say it is effective among well-to-do smartphone users and non-resident Indians who are showing increasing interest in buying homes due to the rupee s steep fall against the dollar in recent times.
Tata Housing, for example, was able to sell one-fourth of its La Montana project in Pune through leads generated by a Facebook campaign that offered buyers a chance to experience the La Tomatina festival in Spain this August. "With 25% of our annual budget focused on social media, the company is aggressively ramping up its digital presence," a spokesperson of Tata Housing Development Company said.
The firm - which boasts of more than 90,000 Facebook fans, a YouTube channel, and active presence on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest - said almost 20% of its Innora Park project in Pune was sold through social media.
Bangalore-based Puravankara group, which has hired specialist agency Yrals to manage its online activities, too plans to significantly increase social media share in its marketing spends from the current 10%, its CEO Jackbastian K Nazareth said.
The company recently executed a social media campaign, Breakfree, where the booking amount, pre-EMI, floor-rise and loan processing fees were waived - adding up to Rs 62 lakh - for people who booked through their social media platforms.
Godrej Properties executive vice president, marketing and sales, Girish Shah says many non-resident Indians and people living in other cities book apartments through solely digital interactions.
Hareesh Tibrewala, joint chief executive officer of Social Wavelength, which handles the digital presence of Tata Housing, said social media has grown to around 15% of the marketing mix of realty firms from just about 1-3% three years ago.
Companies such as Mahindra Lifespaces, Lodha Group and Shobha Developers also use social media for brand building, employee engagement and to address enquiries from potential buyers.

Internet Marketing For Real Estate Professionals Now Available7/25/2013Internet market for real estate professionals is now available to the real estate industry. AMRE Realty announced earlier today that they have released a new web development system designed specifically for real estate agents and brokers. The purpose of the new system is to bring an industry that has shied away from internet marketing into the twenty-first century.
When it comes to marketing many real estate professionals have stuck to what has worked for them and their predecessors. Forms of marketing such as ads in local newspapers and magazines have held the highest level of marketing potential. That is until now. With the release of the new internet marketing for real estate professionals system there may be a shift in the way realtors and brokers market themselves and their properties.
“Over the last decade internet marketing has revolutionized the way that many industries advertise their products and services. The real estate industry is just one of the last industries to see the potential internet marketing has to offer. By bringing our new web development system to the real estate industry we hope to change the way the real estate industry perceives the internet and its ability to effectively market properties,” states Simon Landers, spokesperson.
Mr. Landers continues, “We look forward to working with a variety of real estate professionals from all over the industry, as we have developed our system to allow us to target specific niche areas of real estate. The real estate industry has the potential to change the way it currently does business. Individuals are already buying cars and other more expensive items online. Buying and selling homes has the same abilities. They just need to be developed the and advertised the right way.”

Buyer-friendly Real Estate Bill to be introduced in Parliament7/17/2013NEW DELHI, JULY 17:
The Government is all set to introduce a buyer-friendly real estate legislation which aims to protect consumers and bring transparency in the sector in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
“We will be introducing the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2013, which is very relevant to realty sector in the Monsoon Session,” Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Girija Vyas said here today.
She said the Bill has been approved by the Cabinet and is proposed to be introduced in Parliament.
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will begin on August 5 and the Bill, after its introduction, is likely to be referred to the Standing Committee of Parliament for examination.
Describing the Bill as a pioneering legislation which will install standardisation and professionalism in the sector, Vyas said: “It will ensure consumer protection and promotion of the real estate sector through effective regulation and introduction of speedy mechanism for adjudication of disputes.”
The real estate sector is one of the largest business and employment generators in the Indian economy. Despite its mammoth size, the sector does not have a regulator who can balance the interests of various stakeholders involved though there are a number of legislations at various levels that affect the sector directly or indirectly.
Assuring the industry that all their concerns have been taken into account in the Bill, she said: “Any further suggestions, if any, can also be taken on board at the time of examination by the Standing Committee.”
“The Government is keen to bring reform to the areas which are crucial for the development of housing and real sector,” she said.
According to the HUPA Ministry data, the housing shortage in India is to be around 18.78 million out of which 56 per cent is in the economically weaker category and 39 per cent is in the lower income group category.
Quoting the McKinsey Global Institute projections, she said: “About 38 million households will not be able to afford housing by 2030. This is quite alarming for us.”
(This article was published on July 17, 2013)

Real estate has entered phase of maturity: Sanjay Dutt7/15/2013The future of the real estate sector in India is tremendous in the next few years. The top eight cities alone have a total pipeline of 70 million square feet for Grade A office space offering large opportunities in the services of project management, facilities management along with our core broking expertise.
From the financial market side, the total private equity totals approximately Rs 1,100 crore in Q1 2013 maintaining its previous quarter levels. The current esti-mated debt to the real estate and development sector is worth over $24 billion. This is expected to rise over the next few years. With more and more public sector financial institutions being com-mercialised, there is an increase in willingness to provide funding to large infrastructure and real estate projects at reasonable rate of return.
Also large infrastructure proj-ects like the Delhi Mumbai indus-trial corridor along with the west-ern and eastern freight corridor have the potential to create new cities and economic centres in the years to come providing immense growth prospects in the years to come. We believe that by maintaining integrity along with innovation, we will be able to help our clients maximise profits.
These clearly indicate that the real estate market can look at a long sustainable growth in the years to come. We may, however, take cognisance of the fact that the real estate market is defi-nitely entering into a new phase of maturity and order which will throw open more options for professional services in the realm.

Abu Dhabi s ADIA invests $200 million in India real estate: sources7/12/2013ADIA, which manages the surpluses the Gulf emirate earns from oil exports, has appointed Kotak Realty Fund, run by Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (KTKM.NS), to invest the money, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.
Earlier this month, Oman s State General Reserve Fund and the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) GIC.UL and Temasek committed to invest $200 million in a real estate fund run by India s biggest mortgage lender, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC.NS).
In May, Qatar paid $1.26 billion for a 5 percent stake in Indian telecoms firm Bharti Airtel Ltd (BRTI.NS), the world s fourth-biggest mobile phone company by customers.
India s finance minister P. Chidambaram visited the Gulf region in May for the second time in two months seeking investment in Asia s third-largest economy.
ADIA has investments of about $400-$500 million in India which includes an 11.22 percent stake in Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services and a $50 million investment in Red Fort Capital, a real estate private equity fund.
Kotak s appointment comes a little over a year after ADIA hired an India-dedicated investment manager for real estate and infrastructure to look at direct investment opportunities in the country.
Both sources declined to be named as the information is not public yet. ADIA and Kotak declined to comment.
ADIA, whose assets range from Citigroup (C.N) bonds to a stake in Britain s Gatwick airport, allocates between 5 to 10 percent of its portfolio to real estate and prefers to invest mainly through third-party fund managers or joint venture agreements, it said in its 2012 annual review.
The sovereign fund s real estate portfolio is widely believed to be skewed towards developed countries but it said in its review it is seeking more investments in emerging markets.
ADIA has undisclosed assets that analysts estimate at between $400-$600 billion - equivalent to about 1 percent of the value of the world s major stock exchanges.
Kotak Realty Fund has $811 million of assets under management and has invested in more than 32 real estate projects in India since it was set up in 2005, according to its website.

GoaPLANNING-1657 Days Vagator is an attractive little bay between rocky headlands with a smallseries of small beaches. It is adorned with the magnificent Chapora Fortat its northern end and bordered by Anjuna Beach to the south. All thesetogether with the umbra of swaying palm trees, and black lava rocks makesit a perfect surrounding for a peaceful living environment.

TAIN's residential project consists of open-plan minimalist design spaces,which invite these excellent surroundings into its units. The designfocusses on the individual needs of each consumer, allowing them thefreedom to adapt the open-plan spaces provided as a blank canvas to lettheir creativity flourish and customize their spaces to their individualneed.

Centered on your needs, TAIN is deliberately designed to represent theowner's aspiration and value base. Unique interior and exteriors like nobeams, flat plate construction, and attention to detail is what has givenTAIN its unique edge.

Belgaum

Located about 5 kms from the Express Highway on Bauxite Road, the property is about 7388 sq meters. Belgaum is a backbone to the auto ancillary units of Central and South India and the recent integrattion of facilities and proper infrastructure by State Government has given Belgaum the impetus it has needed to spur alternative growth engines besides trading.

To cater to Belagaum's aspiring and discerning clientele TAIN is tointroduce Belgaum to innovative concepts in design, construction, andservice.TAIN offers a different environment, catering to the emerging needs and desires of the global Indian.Centered on your needs, TAIN is deliberately designed to represent the owner's aspiration and value base. Uniqueinterior and exteriors like no beams, flat plate constructions, shell roofand attention to details is what gives TAIN its unique edge